The panel participants discussed the possible threat from new technologies to the further development of the banking system. In their view, no real threat to the banking system exists yet, but competition with new tech companies like Facebook may intensify in the future. There are many opportunities for banks to analyze their own databases, which contain an enormous amount of information about their depositors and payments. On this basis, banks are able to develop new business models, mobile payment technologies, alternative lending systems and other services. The trend is that more people are communicating with banks via mobile devices, and for this reason, bank offices’ importance for consumers will decline. That said, banks’ advisory function will survive. Banks’ strength is in regular contact with clients, in contrast to large internet projects, where there is no such interaction. As a result, despite technological advances, people will still keep money in the bank.

The panelists also talked about the prospects for the NFC (near-field communication) standard, a technology enabling contactless transactions and data exchange that is being integrated into the latest generation of mobile devices. This technology is developing rapidly and will have a major impact on many industries going forward.

Additionally, the panelists explored the capabilities of crowdsourcing. Existing technologies can bring tens of thousands of people into projects to form a kind of collective mind. In addition, crowdsourcing can assist in finding the most talented people.